Quality education to end exclusion

The Global Action Week 2008 theme builds on the previous theme of the right to education, calling for an end to all forms of exclusion from quality education. Over 70 million children of school-going age are not in school and access and retention levels particularly for certain categories of people for example, girls and children with special needs, are still low. In Sub-Saharan Africa for example, fewer than 70 percent are in school. Partly as a consequence, over 800 million adults cannot read or write. Yet to ensure that Education For All is truly achieved, the challenge is not merely to guarantee universal access to education but equally to ensure that it is of good quality. This is essential because it is the right of all to have a good quality education, and because it will allow maximum economic, social and health benefits from education. Moreover, poor families will not make the sacrifices necessary to send their children to school if it is perceived to be poor quality. We don’t just want education for all but we want a quality education for all.

In terms of marginalized learners or would-be learners, the reasons for their not getting a quality education differs from country to country. This year’s theme is an opportunity for campaigners to focus on the areas most relevant for their country. Therefore we are encouraging you to select the reasons and types of people that are marginalized in your country. Some examples of why certain people are marginalized and therefore not getting a quality education are:

(a) Disability
(b) Poverty
(c) Gender
(d) Ethnicity
(e) Conflict/ internal displacement
(f) Geographical location (rural people)
(g) Illiteracy after school going age
(h) Child Labour
(i) Orphans and Vulnerable children

This list is by no means exhaustive, but merely serves as an example. You are encouraged to identify which people in your country are excluded from a quality education.

Furthermore when an education is of poor quality, there will usually be several causes. Examples of demands on quality that coalitions may want to campaign for include:

- All children taught in a class no bigger then 40 by a professionally-trained teacher
- Governments to spend at least 25% of recurrent budgets on non-salary quality inputs such as teaching and learning materials,
- Enshrine the right to 9 years of education in national law

To participate in the Global Campaign for Education's Action Week, and for further information or details, please click here .